On a lighter note here is a piece outlining what people got up to on yesterday’s rest day – from world’s biggest waterpark to a an indoor ski centre?
As we wait for Cop28 to get back into full swing this is a sobering piece that highlights how far richer G20 countries still have to go in the fight against climate change.
Patrick Greenfield
Some delegates have raised concerns about the cost of interpretation at Cop28, which has left a number of people unable to follow events.
With tens of thousands attending the climate summit from around the world, good quality translation is an important part of the functioning of Cop28. Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish are the official languages of the UN and translation is provided for many events at a cost to organisers.
But some cannot afford to pay, which has left some delegates feeling excluded, relying on others to explain what is going on.
Analyah Schlaeger dos Santos, an environmental justice coordinator from the US who has been an ad hoc translator for Indigenous delegates from the Amazon to help them follow proceedings, said there was growing frustration.
“Almost everything is held in English. Some may have an interpreter if they can afford to pay for it but for everyone else, they can’t pay for that. People are coming all the way to Cop and still don’t understand what’s going on, which is really gross to me.
“They don’t get to actually participate or share their story. Folks are risking their livelihoods to be here and share what’s happening in their communities. They can’t understand or understand what is going on. It’s really frustrating,” she said.
The UNFCCC has been contacted for comment.
Over 250 organisations from across the globe released a letter today calling on the US to abandon its support for liquefied natural gas (LNG) at COP28 today.
The groups are demanding a stop to the permitting of new facilities in the US and an end to financial and diplomatic support for LNG globally.
The United States, now the largest exporter of LNG on the planet, is expected to see exports double by 2027. The pipeline of proposed but not yet under construction facilities represents a “carbon bomb” according to campaigners, threatening to lock-in over 1400 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions annually — equivalent to the emissions of 378 new coal plants.
“Any push for a phase-out of all fossil fuels at COP28 risks falling flat if the world’s leading LNG exporter shows no signs of changing course,” the letter reads. “We urge the Biden administration to publicly commit during the COP to no further regulatory, financial, or diplomatic support for LNG in the United States or anywhere in the world.”
And for a sense what is at stake over the coming days my colleague Fiona Harvey has written this article arguing negotiations are going to reach a new intensity as nations argue about whether to phase out or phase down fossil fuels.
To catch up on where we have got to so far – from loss and damage to the latest utterings of oil boss and Cop president Al Jaber – this is a useful round-up by my colleague Mark Oliver.
Good morning! This is Matthew Taylor, on the eighth day (if we don’t count yesterday’s rest day) of the 28th Conference of the Parties climate change summit, or Cop28.
The Guardian will be liveblogging the negotiations throughout, as always, and we look forward to your contributions: please email me on [email protected] with thoughts and suggestions. Helena Horton ([email protected]) will be taking over later on.
The theme for today is youth, children, education and skills, but there will also be some discussions around food as the Food and Agriculture Organisation holds a day of events.
The delegates will be returning after a much needed day of rest, hopefully re-energised, and ready for the intense week of negotiations ahead. Stick with us for all the updates.
